


Five Times Aunt May Thought Tony Was Good For Peter

by nasa



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 5+1 Things, Angst, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-05-03 08:37:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14565204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nasa/pseuds/nasa
Summary: ... and one time she didn't.Final chapter will contain Infinity War spoilers; tags and ratings will be updated as chapters are added.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is Spiderman. May is going to kill him.

“- and really, it wasn’t his fault, don’t - please, Aunt May, I’ve already annoyed him enough, just calm down, we don’t need to -“

“Shut up,” May says, whirling around so she can brandish her phone in Peter’s direction. “ _Now.”_

Peter snaps his mouth shut.

He’s still wearing the stupid suit.

“All I wanted was to come home early and make dinner for us to eat together, but instead, I find you in a _ridiculous_ superhero get up that was _clearly_ supplied to you by Tony Stark. So, no. I will not _calm down,_ I will _call Tony Stark_ and clear this whole issue up, and you better hope that phone number he gave me when you two _lied to me_ about the internship works, because if it doesn’t, you are in for a _world_ of trouble, oh boy.”

Peter mumbles something under his breath that May doesn’t catch.

“What’s that?” she asks.

“Nothing, Aunt May,” Peter says quickly, looking down at his feet.

“That’s what I thought,” she says. “Now sit down on that couch and stare at the wall and think about what you’ve done. I’ve got a phone call to make.”

She steps out into the hallway before she dials the number, not sure she wants Peter to hear everything she’s going to say. Oh boy, she is going to _kill him -_

The phone’s answered on the first ring.

“Is it Peter?” the voice asks breathlessly, without any pause or introduction. “Is he okay? I can be there in ten minutes, just let me -“

“He’s _fine,”_ May snaps impatiently. “Can I assume this is Tony Stark?”

“Yes,” Tony says, sounding slightly less panicked. “He’s - are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure, he’s sitting less than ten feet away,” May says. “Though there’s a good chance he _won’t_ be, what with the fact that you’ve got him _running around being a superhero.”_

There’s a long pause. “Ah,” Tony says finally. “So he told you.”

“No,” May says. “I didn’t get _that_ luxury. I got to find out when I came home early and found him wearing that ridiculous spangled suit you gave him.”

“Rookie mistake,” Tony sighs, almost to himself. “Look, for what it’s worth, I agree that the suit is hideous, but he designed it, not me -“

“Listen to yourself!” May all but shouts, and Tony quiets. “Are you seriously trying to talk to me about _suit designs_ right now? My kid is a _vigilante!_ He is going out and throwing himself into danger and it is because _you_ gave him permission to do so! What the hell is wrong with you that you’d think that would be okay?”

When Tony speaks again, he sounds markedly more serious. “I did try to stop him. I gave him a whole lecture and took the suit away and send him home in ugly pajamas as a punishment. And then he went out and fought anyway. Because that’s the kind of kid he is _._ I figured if he was going to do it either way, he was better off with the protection.”

May glances back over her shoulder at the closed door to her apartment. She thinks about what she would do, in Tony’s position; probably take the suit away. She’s sure Peter wouldn’t listen to her about it either.

“Look, Peter’s an amazing kid. You know that. I don’t need to tell you that. But part of that is he feels the need to help out where he’s able. And since he’s got these mutant abilities, that means he’s going to be throwing himself into fights whether or not we decide to help him. I’d rather him have a shield, at the end of the day.”

May swallows hard, looking down at her ring finger. She still wears the wedding ring Ben had given her so many years ago, along with a more slender silver band she’d gotten two years after they adopted Peter. Technically, companion rings are meant to represent children, not nephews, but in a way, Peter really is _her_ kid.

“You still should have told me,” she says.

“Yeah,” Tony admits. “I probably should have.”

May sighs, feeling her constitution failing her even as she tries to stay angry. “There are going to be rules,” she says. “And punishments. You and I need to set up a system to deal with him, I don’t care if it’s difficult or time consuming -“

“Deal,” Tony agrees easily.

“And one more thing - did you say mutant powers?”

The line crackles. “Um,” Tony says.

“ _Peter!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Following chapters will be longer! Any feedback is greatly appreciated :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is a tutor and Peter can't speak Spanish.

“I’m going to die.”

May raises her eyebrow but doesn’t bother to look up from her book. “You have a terminal illness you’re hiding from me?”

Peter groans dramatically, flopping down beside May on the couch. “Yes,” he says, voice muffled by the cushions. “I have Spanishitis. It’s the inability to speak Spanish despite endless attempts to learn.”

“Endless, huh,” May hums, turning to the next page of her book. “Sounds like someone isn’t studying enough.”

“May,” Peter whines, flopping around on the cushions, and May sighs, finally putting her book down. “I’m serious, I’m screwed. Our oral conferences are in two days and the highest I’ve ever gotten on a practice is seventy percent. Seventy percent!”

“That’s passing, isn’t it?” May tries, but it just makes Peter cover his face with a throw pillow. “Well, okay. Is there anything I can do to help? Flashcards, maybe? You could rehearse your speech?”

“If it was a speech, it’d be fine,” Peter sighs. “But it’s a conference, which means I have to sit in a room alone with my teacher and have a ten minute conversation about whatever she chooses to talk about that day. So, basically, I need to know everything I’ve ever learned in the past three years. Which is, you know. Just a little bit more than I can fit onto a stack of flashcards.”

“Sounds like it,” May says sympathetically, leaning over to pat Peter on the shin. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, though! What percentage of your grade is this?”

“Thirty percent.”

May pauses. “Right,” she says. “Well. I don’t speak Spanish. So I can’t help. But I can make you a nice dinner to fuel you for a night of studying! What about fish? Omega-3s are good for the brain!”

“Maybe order out?” Peter suggests, peeking out from behind the cushion.

“Probably a good idea,” May agrees, and stands to go get the takeout menu for the sushi place.

They say that it’ll be at least an hour and a half for delivery but they can have it ready in ten minutes for pick up, so she grabs her spare keys and yells at Peter to lock the door behind her, then heads out into the cold.

It ends up taking more then ten minutes - “Unexpected rush, Ms. Parker, we are so sorry,” the waiter says - but they get a free box of edamame out of it, which is nice. By the time May makes it home, it’s been almost an hour, and as she climbs the stairs to their apartment, she idly hopes that Peter hasn’t eaten everything in the fridge while he waited.

“Food’s here,” May calls, as she steps through the door. “Got a ridiculous amount to suit your super metabolism - oh. Hello. I don’t recall inviting you over.”

Because sitting on the couch beside Peter, filling the spot that May had previously occupied, is Tony Stark. He’s wearing a threadbare sweater and grimy sweatpants, and he looks so unlike May’s image of the billionaire the she has to stop and blink to make sure she’s not seeing things.

“Tía May,” Tony says, tipping his glass of - water? - in her direction. “La mujer más hermosa en Nueva York mayor de treinta. Aparte de mi novia -“

“Cállate!” Peter shouts, smacking at Tony, though Tony dodges out of the way just in time. “May,” Peter says, turning back to face her, though he’s grinning widely. Tony Stark can make him laugh like that? “Mr. Stark was just helping me prepare for my presentation.”

“Oh yeah?” May asks, as casually as she can, going to set the sushi boxes on the coffee table. “And how did Mr. Stark hear of your predicament?”

“Pete here texted me all panicked trying to remember when to use the preterite. I was in the area so I figured I might as well stop in and help the poor kid. I tried to get him to give me some of your delicious baked goods in exchange, but he says no dice.”

“Actually, there are some cookies in the freezer,” May informs him, and his expression flickers for a split second before she continues, “But they’re made from store-bought dough.”

“I’m sure they’re delicious,” Tony says confidently, grinning at her. Despite his get-up, May can’t help but think that he looks ready for the camera; his smile is unwavering and wide, but not anything she’d ever call genuine.

“Well, we’ll have to dip into them,” May says. “I didn’t get enough for three. You two dig in, I’ll go get out some extra fixings.”

She disappears into the kitchen before either of them can comment, and spends some time digging out the cookies to defrost as well as some canned green beans she heats up in the microwave. Sushi is good for you, but vegetables are, too. Along with some sliced up apples, she brings the food out to the living room, where she finds several of the sushi rolls already demolished. Tony’s trying to show Peter how to roll his R’s.

“Just - okay. Think about how you say butter. Butter. Butter. Butter. Not the r, but the double t. Butter. See how that kind of rolls in your mouth? It’s like that, but an R, not a t. Try it again.”

For a while, May just sits and watches them as she works her way through her rainbow roll. Eventually, she settles back in an armchair with her book, and crunches her way through a few half-defrosted cookies, the sound of Peter’s stuttering Spanish a calming balm in the background. It’s strange: just this one extra person’s presence, and suddenly the house feels more full than it has in years. Not that it normally feels empty; but it seems like there’s always a space ready for one extra person, a space that’s never filled. At the dining table, in the living room, in the empty half of May’s bed. Tony’s not a replacement for Ben, of course, not even close, but it’s still - nice, to have him here.

May stays up later than she usually does, waiting for them to finish. Eventually, Peter drifts off halfway through a rant in Spanish about why the only good place to start Star Wars is Episode IV. 

“I should get him to bed,” May says softly, when Tony pauses and spends a moment just watching him doze, one leg propped up on the back of the sofa, the other dangling onto the ground.

Tony smiles when he glances over at her, looking tired. “I can take him,” he says, heaving himself up to his feet with a groan. “God, I’m getting old. Few hours on a perfectly nice couch and already I’m cramping up.”

“The perils of age,” May agrees, although with Tony she suspects it’s more than that. Getting beaten around in a metal suit must take a toll on the body, after all.

May watches as Tony taps what looks like a button on his chest and, a moment later, is engulfed in metal. “That’s new,” she says, and Tony smirks over at her.

“Nanobots,” he says. “Should’ve seen Peter’s face when I showed him, thought he was gonna shit his pants.”

“Language,” May chides, but she finds herself smiling. She can imagine exactly the expression that put have been on Peter’s face - it’s a look of pure joy and excitement he only gets around science things, Legoland, and the Stark Expo.

May waits as Tony carries Peter to his room, then comes back out, shutting the door carefully behind him. He’s shed the suit, and without it, he looks as much a tired hobo as a superhero.

“Let him know he can call me if he needs more help, okay?” Tony says. “I’ll be in town tomorrow. Or next week. Or, you know. Whenever.”

“I’ll let him know,” May says softly.

“I mean, not that he needs it. Really. He’s just being dramatic - if he gets below a 95% on that test I’ll go in and talk to that teacher myself, because her standards are really - um. Anyway. That’s not -“

“I’ll talk to you later, Tony,” May interrupts, taking pity on him.

“Yeah,” Tony says, looking relieved. “Later.”

The door closes with a quiet click behind him. For a moment, May just sits in the silence of her apartment, blinking out into the darkness. Then she pulls herself to her feet and starts gathering empty takeout boxes and dirty napkins to throw out.

She finds three hundred dollar bills, folded and carefully stuffed under the plastic bag of freezer cookies. She sighs, turning the wad over in her palm before carefully slipping it into her purse.

She doesn’t like charity, but Peter will need to pay for college somehow. Tony may be growing on her, but she still figures it’s the least he can do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Spanish here is google translated, so if anyone has any comments to fix it that would be greatly appreciated! Next chapter should be up in the next couple of days :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter breaks his arm, and May panics.

May gets the call in the middle of the night on a Saturday.

“Don’t panic,” Tony says, so of course, she starts panicking immediately. “Peter’s fine, but he’s a little banged up. There were a couple aggressive guys who cornered a girl in an alley - anyway, Peter stepped in, and he took them down but he was spending so much time protecting the girl and ended up getting his arm broken.”

“Just his arm?” May demands. Peter had gone out a few hours before, waving to may as he swung off the roof of their building. May doesn’t like patrol, but it’s part of the deal they worked out with Tony - Peter gets three nights a week to patrol, and the other four, he’s not allowed to leave his room, with confirmation from the tracker Tony’s planted in Peter’s suit.

Peter always tries to go out on the weekends, because that’s when there’s the most crime, even though May discourages it. But of course he does it anyway.

“Just his arm,” Tony confirms. “And he called me when it happened - before Karen even alerted me - which is good. We’re at Mount Sinai hospital now. I figured you’d rather hear from me than an ER.”

“Is Peter there?” May asks. “Can you put him on?”

There’s a shuffling crackle and a moment later - “Hey, May,” Peter says, and May slumps entirely back against the pillows in relief. “I’m fine, I just need to get a cast on it and then we’ll be right as rain -“

“Give the phone back to Tony,” May demands, and there’s another shuffle as it’s handed off.

“Yeah?”

“Text me the details,” May says, throwing back her blankets and finally crawling out of bed. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

She dresses quickly, and flags a cab, telling the driver to “Go as fast as you can and get a nice tip out of it”. She doesn’t really have the money to be making that promise but, whatever.

She tosses a wad of cash at him when they end up at the hospital and all but sprints inside, coming to a halt in the pediatric emergency room.

“I’m looking for my nephew,” she pants. “Peter Parker? Came in with a broken arm?”

The nurse clicks through her computer. “Okay, looks like he’s getting the cast on right now, but he’ll be back in just a few minutes. In the mean time, let me get you a visitor’s pass - what’s your name?”

May gets a temporary pass affixed to her chest, and then sits in one of the grimy vinyl visitors chairs, drumming her fingers on her knees. She keeps checking her phone, just in case Peter or Tony has texted her, but there’s nothing. Nothing, that is, until -

“Aunt May!”

May startles, turning to find Peter emerging from the children’s ward, a neon green cast encasing his right forearm.

“I’m going to kill you,” May informs him, trying to be stern, but it’s undermined by the relief she can’t quite keep from shaking out in her voice. This is her boy - she can’t imagine what would happen if she lost him, if something happened. He’s all she has left, he’s her child. There’s nothing more terrifying than her being hurt. 

She swallows down her emotions and pushes herself to her feet so she can grasp Peter by the shoulders and pull him into a hug. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Peter tells her shoulder. “Really, I promise.”

“He really is,” someone pipes up behind him, and May finally realizes that Tony’s here, too. He’s got his sunglasses propped on the top of his head, and is tapping away at his phone in his hand, but he’s here. He stayed with Peter, for what must have been a couple hours now, even though May’s sure there are other things he could be doing.

“What’d the doctor say?” May asks without letting Peter free of her grip. He gave her a scare, he can deal with a little bit of embarrassing aunt action in public.

“Clean break,” Tony says. “I’ll have FRIDAY email you the scans, but given everything, it should only take a couple weeks for Petey to heal.”

“Don’t call me Petey,” Peter grumbles. Both May and Tony ignore him.

“Did you give my insurance information to the nurse? I can’t remember what my deductible is, I’ll need to ask them - where are we supposed to pay, anyway?”

Tony waves off her concerns. “Don’t worry about it,” he says.

May frowns at him. “Don’t be ridiculous, you don’t have to pay for this.”

“Well, I already did,” Tony counters. “Come on, accept a little money from a billionaire. It’s literally nothing to me. In fact it’d be more annoying for me if I have to go and try to cancel the payment -“

“This is the weirdest sugar daddy relationship I have ever seen,” Peter interrupts, and May glares while Tony wiggles his eyebrows.

“Just for that comment,” May says, “I’m extending your punishment. No patrol until this thing’s fully healed - and by “fully healed,” I mean three weeks.”

“Aunt May,” Peter whines, and she can tell he’s starting up a tantrum so she cuts him off.

“Don’t test me, Peter, I could make this so much worse for you,” she says, and Peter slumps.

“Okay, Aunt May,” he mumbles, looking at his feet. 

“I’ll send a Sentinel armor over,” Tony offers. “Make sure Peter stays in place.”

Peter groans, making a face at Tony. “Is that really necessary, Mr. Stark?”

“It wouldn’t be, if you would just do what you’re told. But we both know the first second your aunt turns her back, you’ll be swinging out your window in a jumpsuit. So, yeah, it seems pretty necessary.”

Peter huffs dramatically but doesn’t protest further.

The next morning, Aunt May wakes up to a clattering in the kitchen, and comes out to find Peter trying to teach the armor how to make pancakes.

Batter ends up on the ceiling. It’s worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback, constructive or otherwise, is, as always, hugely appreciated! Also if anyone has any prompts or suggestions, for future chapters or for future fics, let me know! I'm looking into getting writing more little things and honestly I just don't have enough ideas.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the anniversary of Ben's death, Peter doesn't come out of his room.

On the anniversary of Ben’s death, Peter doesn’t come out of his room.

It’s the first time it’s happened like this. For the past three years, the anniversary has fallen on a weekday, and so in the morning, they didn’t have a choice but to get up. They’d go to school and work, and it wasn’t until the evening, once they’d returned home, that they allowed themselves to grieve. They’d sit on the couch, watching old Brooklyn Nine-Nine episodes, and try to act like they weren’t crying into their popcorn.

But this year, the anniversary is on a Saturday. There’s no school or work to go to. And Peter doesn’t come out of his room.

“Peter?” May asks tentatively, rapping gently on his door. “You in there?”

“I’m sleeping,” Peter grumbles, so May leaves him alone.

But breakfast comes and goes, and lunch comes and goes, and soon the early afternoon light is slanting through the living room, and still Peter hasn’t emerged.

May doesn’t know what to do. She wants to talk to someone about it - she wants to talk to Ben about it. She wants a partner in this. It’s so hard, trying to raise a child by yourself, even one as incredible and mature as Peter. She feels like she’s constantly worrying about what she’s messed up now.

May decides her best bet is to make him something to eat and try to wheedle her way into his room. See then if she can make him feel better. 

She’s in the kitchen, searching for the peanut butter jar in the pantry, when the doorbell rings.

“One minute!” she calls, wiping her hands on her jeans.

“Hello,” Tony Stark says when she opens the door. “Mind if I come in?”

Wordlessly, May steps aside, watching as Tony sheds his expensive jacket on their grimy little overflowing coat rack. “Karen called me,” Tony supplies, without May having to ask. “Thought I’d drop by.”

“He’s - not doing well,” May says.

“Yeah,” Tony says, looking towards Peter’s room. He’s got a sad, almost lost expression on his face. Suddenly, May remembers that Tony, too, is infinitely familiar with grief.

“I don’t know what to do,” May says.

Tony’s smile is small and soft. “I got this,” he says, and May nods, swallowing hard against the sudden tears pressing against her eyelids.

“Be careful with him,” she manages. Tony nods and turns towards Peter’s room.

“Hey, Pete,” May hears, and then there’s the soft click of Peter’s bedroom door between them.

May takes a breath, then turns back towards the kitchen. They’ve still got a sink of dirty dishes from last night, so she plugs the sink with its stopper and starts filling it with warm water.

It always seems like there are dishes to do, now. Neither Peter nor May ever really liked to do them, so Ben always did. He was in charge of kitchen chores, and Peter was in charge of vacuuming, and May took out the trash and dusted. It was their system. It worked.

Except now Ben’s dead, and the whole system has broken down. Like a tricycle with a missing wheel, May feels like they’re just spinning, now, and it takes twice as much effort to do anything. May does the dishes now, and cleans the fridge, and sweeps the floor. She has no other choice.

She makes it through almost all the dishes before Tony finally emerges from Peter’s bedroom, Peter trailing after him a moment later.

“Hey, May,” Peter says, scuffing his shoe against the tile. “I’m, uh - I’m sorry. I just -“

“It’s fine, Peter,” May says softly. “Come here.”

Peter stumbles forward towards May and lets her wrap him up in her arms. He’s as tall as her, now, and more muscled than he’s ever been before, but he’s still her little boy. May presses her eyes closed and hugs him close, pressing a kiss on the side of his head.

“I love you,” Peter mumbles into her shirt.

“I love you, too,” May sniffles, “Okay? Okay,” and she releases him, taking careful step back. “Now, we still haven’t had lunch. You have anything in mind?”

“Pizza,” Peter says immediately, and May laughs, the sound watery, as she turns to grab her phone.

“Pizza it is,” she agrees. “Tony, you staying for dinner?”

When she glances over her shoulder, Tony looks a bit taken aback. “Um -“

“Can you?” Peter pipes up. “I’d - I’d like it if you stayed. We still haven’t watched the last Godfather.”

“Of course, kid,” Tony says. “But only if you get it from Joe’s.” He turns to May to explain. “Last time Peter was at the compound, he suggested we order Domino’s and I think I had a mini aneurysm.”

Peter, of course, immediately takes offense, and starts explaining why Domino’s is, in fact, a fantastic pizza place. May rolls her eyes and turns back to the sink while she waits for their argument to finish up. She figures it’ll take long enough for her to finish the dishes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, any feedback is hugely appreciated!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter has a crush; May and Tony are determined to help.

Peter’s had a crush on MJ for months.

May had realized it before he had; he kept coming home and gushing to her, MJ is so cool, MJ is so smart, MJ is so funny! He’d sounded exactly the same way he had when he’d had a thing for Liz, except this time it’s a crush on one of his closest friends, not the school Prom Queen.

So May waits until she knows he’s aware of his own crush before she confronts him about it over dinner. “So,” she says, twirling her pasta over her fork. “You like MJ a lot, huh?”

Peter pauses, meatball halfway to his mouth. He’d just finished his third MJ story of the day - this one about how she “totally shut Flash down at lunch, it was awesome” - but still he looks surprised by the turn of conversation.

“Yeah,” he says slowly, almost suspicious. “Uh, why?”

“No reason,” May says. “Just, you know. Thought it was interesting. That you liked her. She have a boyfriend or girlfriend?”

“May,” Peter groans, slumping back in his chair. “Don’t do this.”

“Do what? I’m not doing anything!”

“I don’t have a crush on MJ. And even if I did - which I don’t! - she wouldn’t want to go out with someone like me.”

May’s smile drifts into a frown. “Peter,” she says sternly. “You are a lovely boy, anyone would be lucky to date you.”

“Well, we’ll have to agree to disagree on that one then,” Peter says. “Besides, I’m busy. I’ve got school and Decathalon and - extracurriculars. I just don’t have enough time.”

“There’s always time for love,” May tries, and Peter looks so alarmed that she takes pity on him and changes the topic.

She remains hopeful that something more will happen, but nothing does. Days pass, then weeks, then months, and Peter still comes home and gushes about MJ with the same bright-eyed enthusiasm, and still he does nothing to ask her out.

She’s all but given up hope when, one Thursday, near the end of the school year, Peter comes home in a better mood than May’s seen him in years.

“Hi, May!” Peter shouts, all but bouncing into the kitchen. “How are you? Are you great? I’m great!”

“Calm down, Energizer Bunny,” May teases, unable to stop the smile spreading across her face in response to Peter’s joy. “What’s going on? Why are you so great?”

“I asked MJ out,” Peter informs her. “And she said yes!”

“Peter! That’s incredible!”

Peter laughs. “Isn’t it? We’re going to the movies tomorrow! And I - am - so - excited!” He punctuates his words with ridiculous dance moves, capped by an absurd little shimmy.

“Well, how did it happen? When did you - Peter, where did you even get the guts to ask her? Yesterday you were scared to ask Mrs. Hilton next door for flour, let alone ask MJ out.”

“Tony helped me,” Peter explains, refusing to still his jittering movements. “He gave me advice about asking a girl out and I did it! I asked her out! And she said yes!” He whoops and starts leaping again, bounding over the window and back like he’s on a trampoline.

He looks so excited. May can’t remember the last time she saw him like this - she thinks it must have been before Ben died. She’s always worried about him, but especially recently she wonders if she’s doing this all right, if she’s somehow managed to mess this perfect boy’s life up.

But here he is, now, like a puppy dog high on sugar, dancing around the living room because he’s so happy. He’s happy. Her boy is happy.

May thinks she must be doing okay at something if Peter’s happy like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter will be up this Friday! As always, comments are hugely appreciated :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-Infinity War.

May’s halfway through her turkey ruben when the people sitting next to her at the cafe start shrieking about spaceships.

May stumbles out onto the street with the rest of the lunch crowd, all of them craning their necks to see the ring-shaped UFO descending onto the city. With it comes a fierce wind that sends newspapers and pedestrians and light poles flying, and around May, people start screaming and running and crying. But May just stands, shell-shocked, her heart beating away in her chest.

It’s the Battle of New York all over again. There are aliens coming, which means there’ll be a fight. There’ll be damage, and civilian casualties, civilian casualties like Ben -

May’s brain finally kicks into gear. They’ll be a fight. Peter is going to fight.

“Oh, god,” she says, turning and fighting the flow of the crowd as she tries to make it back to her office. Cell service will be overwhelmed, she knows, it happened this way last time, but with the landlines she’ll at least have a chance to reach Peter.

By the time she makes it back to her office, the terrible wind has stopped, but it isn’t until she gets to the twenty-fourth floor that she sees the spacecraft has lifted off and is headed for the sky. She watches as a dim flare follows it, the light just barely tinted blue. Iron Man.

May doesn’t spare another moment hurrying to her desk to pick up the phone, dialing Peter’s number with shaking fingers. She waits one, two, three rings, before finally Peter’s voice is in her ear.

“Hey -“ he starts, cheerful, and she’s already breathing out a sigh of relief when he continues, “This is Peter’s voicemail. Uh, Peter Parker. Just in case you didn’t - anyway, I’m not available right now. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I get out of this prison my Aunt calls a school!”

Beep.

May swallows hard against her burgeoning tears and dials again. Again. Again. Nothing. Maybe Peter doesn’t have service, she thinks, but if that were the case it wouldn’t ring through, it’d just go straight to voicemail. No, his phone is getting the call, but he’s not answering.

She sends Peter three separate texts before deciding her best bet is to head back to the house and wait for him to arrive. She texts Ned, too; neither the calls or the texts she sends to him make it through.

Outside, the streets are filled with spectators, people gawking at the damage left by this most recent fight and wondering about what the hell is going to happen next.

“Did you hear what Spiderman did?” one guy asks his friend, and May’s heart sinks. “He totally saved Iron Man’s ass, it was awesome!”

She waits alone in her apartment, the news on at full-volume. All afternoon, there are minimal updates: Tony Stark is missing (so Peter probably is too); the attack is suspected to be from different aliens than last time; further action on their part is anticipated. At one point, atmospheric disruptions are reported over western Africa, but, still, a good hour after that, there’s no progress.

Until one of the news anchors dissolves into ash on live TV.

May watches, gaping, as the other anchor grasps at her remains. “Carol,” he chokes out, and suddenly the camera staggers and falls, the screen cracking open on impact. A moment later, it goes dark.

“What the hell,” May murmurs, as outside, a cacophony of screams begins. She makes her way to the window, sticks her head out, and -

Ash. It’s everywhere. Not only is it everywhere, it’s multiplying, because people keep disappearing, right before her eyes. She watches as an old lady stumbles and falls, her walker dissolving with her; as a middle-aged man is ripped from the woman he clings to; as a baby disintegrates in her mother’s arms -

She goes back inside and throws up. Then again. The whole time, she keeps her gaze trained on her limbs, but they don’t dissolve or grow weak or shake. They’re just there.

She curls up on her couch and stares at the blank TV. For hours, there is nothing; she starts to taste ash on the air, and goes and closes all her windows, shoves blankets into the crack under her door. She doesn’t want to breathe in these strangers’ bodies; she just wants everything to be normal, for nothing to be different, for the air to taste the same as it always has.

Finally, at almost midnight, there’s a knock on May’s door.

Hope leaps in her chest. This is it. Peter’s back, he’s fine, he went missing and is going to be grounded for years, but he’s fine -

She fumbles her way to the door, almost tripping over the rug in her haste, only to yank it open to see -

“Tony,” she says, glancing behind him to the hallway. “Where’s Peter?”

Tony just stares at her, this horrible twist to his mouth. He’s covered in grime and blood and sweat and his suit is half torn apart around him, like it was corroded with acid while he was still inside. “May,” he says helplessly.

“No,” May says, disbelieving. “No. He’s not - where is he, Tony?”

“I’m so sorry,” Tony says, and May sways in the doorway.

“He can’t be,” she says. “He - he can’t be. He’s seventeen. He’s - he’s Peter, he can’t be -“

“I know,” Tony says, voice cracking. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath. “I know.”

And suddenly May snaps. The swell of grief and pain that engulfs her is so shocking, so immediate, that she finds herself lunging forward to beat her fists on Tony’s chest, making him stumble backwards.

“This is your fault,” she screeches. “You were supposed to help him! You were supposed to protect him!”

“I know,” Tony says, again and again, not making any move to protect himself. “I know, I know.”

May hits him, again and again and again, before finally she collapses against his chest, whole body shaking.

“You should have saved him,” she sobs. “Oh, Peter. Peter.”

Tony wraps his arms around her back, and lets her cry in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope that wasn't too upsetting! If you need a little something to cheer you up, I did just post a separate, much flufflier Tony & Peter fic you can check out!
> 
> If anyone wants to leave prompts or suggestions for other stories in the comments, feel free to do so! I am hoping to write more this summer so any prompts would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> find me at nasafic.tumblr.com!


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